Black College Nines looks at all the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) “small school” division baseball programs as we summarize each team’s 2022 year-to-date mid-season performance.
Black College Nines identifies which teams are having early season struggles in conference, reviews the starting pitching rotations, names first halves surprises and those surpassing expectations. Mid-Season records for games played as of March 17, 2022.
Albany State University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 11-5
Albany State is a hit when it comes to scoring runs. The Golden Rams are consistency getting runners in scoring position and bring them home. So far into the season, Albany State has been consistently getting through innings offensively and defensively. The pitching rotation so far has been good from starters to middle relievers. Albany State is expected to make another return and compete for a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) title. Tough non-conference schedule against top-notch NCAA Division II programs will help win the conference.
Benedict College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 2-16
The Tigers are off to the worst start in program’s history. At the plate, five players have batting averages over .300… Bradon O’Connor, .471, Jalen McDuffie .390, Jorge Baez .361, Jamell Mitchell .329, and Taj Bates .324. O’Connor is on pace to steal 70 or more bases this season. The big issue? Pitching was supposed to have an immediate impact after working hard during fall ball, but the entire pitching staff has become a liability. Big surprise.
Bluefield State College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 10-16
Played well this season despite their record. Tough nonconference schedule in the NCAA Division II. Not swinging the bat with consistency and pitching is suspect. Appears good at times around the plate then it goes bad. It won’t be easy with some top ranked teams on the schedule. If Big Blues can turn it around, team can make some noise toward seasons’ end.
Claflin University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 1-8
Lacking hitting at the plate, defense, and pitching. The short of it all…short on power at the plate, short on solid pitching. Still a window to turn the season around.
Clark Atlanta University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 4-17
Pitching was supposed to have an immediate impact, but the pitching staff and position players have not produced.
Edward Waters University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 7-14
Big things expected in 2022 for a club that returned key pieces to its roster. However, 14 losses are a direct results of multiple fielding errors and stranded runners in scoring position. So far, EWU has been surprisingly inconsistent, especially on the mound. One area of concern, recruiting NAIA student athletes as it transitions into a NCAA Division II program in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).
Florida Memorial University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 11-9
Plays very well in some games and not so in others. Under head coach Florentino Burgos, who has guided the team to upset wins against rank teams (Keiser and Warner), needs the defense to play error free which plagues the Lions. When Florida Memorial plays well, they are playing some good baseball and scoring runs with a defensive effort. Evidence is the 11 wins, but inconsistency on the defensive side has led to loses.
Harris-Stowe State University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 10-8
Head coach Pernell Roberts, who took over the program at the half-way point last season has the Hornets off to a good start this year. Ranked in Black College Nines HBCU Baseball Top 10 small school poll. This is a tremendously good team. Big crop of talent, power at the plate, defense, and pitching, young with arms in the bullpen. Plays in the American Midwest Conference (AMC), one of the top conferences in the NAIA. Solid pitching and hitting will drive HSSU forward and a repeat to the conference tournament.
Huston-Tillotson University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 7-13
The Rams hired head coach Chase Almendarez this past December. The young energetic coach has shown this squad can play with the top Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) members if they can produce consistency offensively when they start swinging the bats putting pressure on the defense. HTU has a competitive schedule to build upon its team strength. Needs mound presence to step up. Good win streak away from jumping into the conference race.
Jarvis Christian University
2028 Mid-Season Record: 5-20
Another rebuilding year for the Bulldogs baseball program. Costly errors and walks have allowed runs to score. Young team across the board. Pitching and hitting could help climb out of the cellar in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC).
Kentucky State University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 8-12
The prospects of a good offense, coming into the season, has been suspect and underperforming at times. Not winning the pitching game has contributed to some tough losses but the Thorobreds are just starting to get into the meat of its schedule. A veteran presence on the mound needs to turn it around, competition will also be strong within the SIAC conference.
Lane College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 5-9
The 2022 season is a rebuilding year for Lane with a crop of inexperienced freshmen competing. They are striving to make this the best year a freshman team can have. Three of their five wins came against conference foe Benedict this past February. Getting men on base and a lack of mound presence has been a daunting task in the early going this season. Costly errors have allowed runs to score.
LeMoyne-Owen College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 3-13
Another rebuilding year for LeMoyne-Owen. The baseball program did not field a team during the 2021 season in a self-imposed shut down due to pandemic concerns. Recruiting took a hit, but that is not an excuse.
Lincoln University (PA)
2022 Mid-Season Record: 5-12
The Lincoln University Lions’ consistency is an issue. Pitching has let this ball club down, the starters have been a non-factor. The big bats of both Hilman Truss and Jefry Azcona are underachieving. Two of the Lions four wins came against Virginia State, the second week of the season.
Miles College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 12-9
The Golden Bears have found good pitching with consistency in freshmen RHP Kloten Easterwood (4-0) and LHP Kody Long with a 4-1 record, plus they have some good arms in the pen. Hitting is pushing runners across the plate. At the plate, Kody Long’s .404, Max Davenport’s .387, James Bitner’s .384, Will Cantey’s .326, Eli Snelson’s .311, and William Johnson’s .310 are driving in runs. Bitner leads the team and the conference with 24 runs batted in. Miles plays a tough non-conference schedule. The starters have set themselves up to be a big factor in the SIAC conference.
Morehouse College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 2-11
Coming into the season no one knew what to expect. Morehouse has had problems hitting, pushing runners across the plate, and starting pitching has not led to victories. The two wins came by defeating conference rival Tuskegee in a weekend matchup of two storied programs. The Maroon Tigers had a self-imposed shutdown during the 2021 season due to the pandemic.
Morris College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 0-5
First time in programs history that Morris started the 2022 season before the basketball team completed its schedule. Season really just underway… will customarily play 15 games.
Paine College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 8-2
The Lions are off to a good start this season. The baseball program was shutdown after the 2018 season. The athletic department reenergized the the program transitioning from the NCAA Division II to the NAIA and National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) member. Paine is off to a sizzling hot start with DII-type of players competing in the NAIA. Both starters and relievers picking each other up and limiting the opposing runners from scoring.
Rust College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 4-6
Going into the season, big things were expected in 2022 for the Bearcats after competing in the inaugural Black College World Series last season. Hitting and pitching has been decent. The pitching rotation so far has been good from starters to middle relievers in the four wins. When it comes to scoring runs, in the six loses, Rust has been inconsistently leaving runners stranded in scoring position. But they are poised to make a run for a second straight Black College World Series appearance this May in Montgomery AL.
Savannah State University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 15-6
The Tigers are off to a good start this season. 15 wins is a good sign. RHP Jared Showalter (4-0) is pitching well with a 2.48 earned run average and has received run support when pitching. Second and third starters Jose Santiago 5-0, and Enrico Peele 5-1 are boosting the rotation. Ten batters at the plate with significant playing time are batting over .300 with Joseph Smith’s .429 average leading the SIAC conference and a team has a whooping .335 batting average. This will be needed when facing conference opponents to win the close ball games.
Stillman College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 6-12
The Tigers have a tough non-conference schedule verses top rank teams in the NAIA from within the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC). Stillman plays well at times this season; they are inconsistent both on the mound and at the plate. Pitching must improve to finish the season strong.
Talladega College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 12-10
Tough non-conference schedule. The toughest among all HBCUs in the NAIA. The Tornados have beaten Reinhardt University (receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll) and have 16 remaining games against teams rank in the NAIA Top 25 and Black College Nines Top 10 small school poll. Remaining games against teams ranked and receiving votes include No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett, No. 6 Miles, No. 10 Tuskegee, and No. 12 Middle Georgia State, No. 19 William Carey. Receiving votes are Faulkner, Loyola (LA), and Reinhardt. On the mound, Ramses Ortega and Wendy Senvil have made an impact. At the plate, both Jose Santiago with 6 home runs and a .404 batting average, along with freshmen Miguel Oropeza .478 with 1 runs batted in are leaders on the team. As the season progresses, Talladega will contend and should be in the mix for the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) tournament. Those early season games will aid in its run towards the Black College World Series and the NAIA National Tournament.
Texas College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 0-12
Since the hiring of Mark Thomas, the Steers first-year head baseball coach, the team is reeling. Texas College administration shut the program down in 2021 due to the pandemic. That down time hurt recruiting. The Steers have allowed opponents to score 292 runs in 11 of their 12 games this season which includes a forfeit. In those games, the offense has only scored two runs. Pitching has accounted for the opponents in four-games of 30 or more runs scored including a 43-1 whopper by Texas A&M Texarkana this past February 25. Former head coach Anthony Macon impacted the program stabilizing pitching leading the team to the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) tournament during the 2019 season. He departed to the SWAC as the pitching coach at Prairie View A&M after the 2020 virus shut down collegiate baseball season.
Tougaloo College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 5-20
The Bulldogs opened the season taking two of three games from preseason No. 2 Xavier University (LA) winning that series back in February. Since then, Tougaloo has gone 3-19. The entire team is struggling at the plate and the rotation is not living up to expectations. The scouting reports suggests they put up a competitive effort but fall short. Costly errors have allowed runs to score. Can they manage the adversity and turn the season around?
Tuskegee University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 7-7
The Golden Tigers entered the start of the season with injuries to key position players. The injuries opened the roster full of freshmen to jump in and make an immediate impact. The first six games all in the loss column. A recent road win visiting Morehouse in Atlanta, an 8-2-win Feb. 20 ended the injury bug. Tuskegee has won six of their last seven ball games with the returning veterans and the younger players are gearing up to knock off SIAC opponents during the 30 game conference schedule and make a run for the conference tournament. Tuskegee became an improved team when players returned from injury list.
Virginia State University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 5-10
The lack of hitting, fielding, and pitching has led to an early season 5-10 overall record. Expect head coach Merrill Morgan to right the ship and start to live up to fall expectation.
Voorhees College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 4-19
Played good in the four wins. Not so in the 19 loses. Not able to plate runners with men on base. Voorhees can play with anybody if they can play at a level of consistency, but they are getting through innings offensively and defensively.
West Virginia State University
2022 Mid-Season Record: 6-4
West Virginia State is facing a tough non-conference and conference schedule. Expect competition to be strong within the conference, but they do have some good midweek and weekend arms at the one and two spots in the rotation and a strong bullpen. The Yellowjackets are just starting to crank it up. Pitching has led to some tough close one or two run wins. As an NCAA Division II independent, they appear ready to make a run for a second straight NCAA Regionals appearance.
Wiley College
2022 Mid-Season Record: 1-21
Lack of hitting and pitching. Not able to plate runners getting through innings offensively and defensively.